To ‘spill the tea’ means to disclose information, especially of a sensitive nature. So, Nicky (Me, Myself & I be used throughout this description) decided to create THE TEA with Nicky because I saw a gap in portraying authentic Feminine Leadership in business, on the sports field and even everyday life. It is evident that the world is progressing, and the gender gap is slowly, but surely, closing between men and women.

The ‘opportunity gap’ for this content comes in is that businesses (and society) don’t have enough insight or knowledge on how to increase Feminine Leadership in the workspace, or what that truly means. Frankly, not many people know what it means as there is no finite answer; it is open-ended. That is why I created this platform; to be able to have open and honest conversations about lessons learned from “failures” with inspirational women from all walks of life, career backgrounds, and ideas of what Feminine Leadership means to them.

The aim of this web series is to create relatable content that can help inspire those looking for career guidance after a bump in the road, insightful conversations about learning from “failure” from role model figures and to quench the curiosity of the open-ended question of what Feminine Leadership is and can be.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Motshidisi Mohono is an awarding winning Sport Broadcaster – currently plying her trade at SuperSport International. Mohono made her TV break in 2011 when SuperSport rolled out the Lady Rugga presenter search, where she finished third.

Mohono's work speaks for itself and she has been awarded the 2016 GSport4Girls Women in Media: TV award and was named the 2018 SA Sport Awards Journalist of the Year. In 2018 she was part of SuperSport’s production team for the England tour to South Africa, anchoring Super Rugby games in studio and travelling to New Zealand to cover the tournament’s final. In 2019 she was the anchor for the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final (South Africa versus England) alongside notorious rugby players and commentators.

Mohono opens up about how she found her way to becoming a rugby sports anchor, how she conquers her nerves and a tip for aspiring presenters. It'll definitely have you feeling motivated to go after your goals and smash them! "

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Jessica Sutton is a born & bred Cape Tonian actress, who is now making a name for herself across the US (& the world!) She is Tally Craven on the new Teen series sensation (also, one of my personal favourites), Motherland: Fort Salem live on Freeform & NOW ALSO on Showmax in South Africa. Jess made her first international appearance in 2015 on the mini-series Saints & Strangers, but you may also recognise her from the Netflix film, The Kissing Booth, as the popular ring leader, Mia. Some compared her to Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl in this role, but we'll just leave that for you to decide ☕  

Jess opens up about her journey from high school to her first gig: how she learned to deal with criticism & the devilish imposter syndrome voice we hear when starting new projects, never losing focus on your passion and the most hilarious game of charades.  

Thank you, Jess, for letting me come into your space, and for being so open and honest. Hope you all enjoy my first IN PERSON TEA video! ✨

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Paulette Neo Kaise is a fitness enthusiast with a BA in Media Studies and Industrial Psychology. Paulette found her love for fitness while she was studying and has now made it her career after she pursued a Personal Training Diploma. Paulette also has a burning passion to give back to her community and to assist those who find themselves in disadvantaged situations. That is how she founded EmpoweredToEmpower. She helps those who are looking to obtain fitness, mental health or business goals!

Paulette opens up about how she entered Face of Fitness FOUR times before making it to the Top 3, her purpose and vision for EmpoweredToEmpower and the importance of your mental health during the lockdown when pursuing fitness goals.

She is the epitome of tenacity and perseverance. Not an interview you'd want to miss!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Romy Mayer is the only female Race Engineer on her team at Triple Eight Race Engineering. She is also part of the Red Bull Supercar Racing Series, but not only that, she is the lead engineer on an AMG GT3 in a race series in Asia where the driver is the Prince of Malaysia! Romy believes that it is important to have role models to help shape the minds of the next generation where we can and inspire them to believe in themselves.

When Romy isn't working under the pressure of long hours and performance delivery testing, she is an Ambassador of the Dare To Be Different (https://www.instagram.com/d2bdofficial/): an initiative that inspires, connects & celebrates girls and women in every aspect of racing. There's more! During the Covid-19 Global Lockdown, Romy became the Future Females Gold Coast Ambassador (https://futurefemales.co/).

Romy and I talk about how she went from being a young girl in school who loved Maths & Physics to studying Engineering at University in Germany and then finding her way to the Gold Coast in the land down under. Romy will definitely leave you feeling inspired to believe yourself and always remain determined on your goals to make your 'Aha Moment' come true.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Lufuno Sathekge (also known by her IG handle as @_msbrownstyling) is a Wardrobe Stylist in the Media & Entertainment space. She has styled productions for V-Entertainment, MassiveMusic, SuperSport, TV commercials, Music videos, Private shoots, as well as offering Personal wardrobe makeovers! Lufuno stumbled into the stylist career by chance while working as an Account & Relationship Manager for Madlozi Entertainment and submitting other stylists for an opportunity her friend had come to her for until she eventually put forward her ideas and hasn't looked back since. She has also found her love for create and distributing content for new mother's as she has recently given birth to a beautiful 4-month-old baby boy, Vladimir.

We discuss why and how she found her career as a wardrobe stylist, her favourite fashion trend, her hardships in the industry as a new mother and a black female. Lufuno offers her insights and opinions about the Black Lives Matter Movement and the unfortunate Xenophobia that is present in South Africa today. Lufuno also gives us an exclusive as to what is to come on her social media platforms as a new, working mother as well!

I would like to reiterate it here as well: Breastfeeding is NORMAL & NATURAL. I say this because, during the interview, Lufuno's 4-month-old son wakes up from his nap & she breastfeeds him during the interview.

Lufuno Sathekge's media accounts:

Personal IG: https://www.instagram.com/lufunolove/?hl=en

Stylist IG: https://www.instagram.com/_msbrownstyling/?hl=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lufuno-claire-sathekge-1057a966/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LufunoLove

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Onke Dumeko is the Editor-in-Chief & Group Publishing Director at The Bar Group, for DESTINY Connect and the magazine. She is an unshakeable woman who strives to lead a purposeful and impactful life and lives by the mantra that “Leadership is a privilege, not a right and it is to be earned in the arena of action because ultimately, leaders should not create great followers, they should create great leaders.” She has extensive experience in media & publishing, FMCG and the public sector. She is a professional communications expert, strategist, marketer, brand manager, writer, speaker, spokesperson and speechwriter.

We talk about what the title 'Editor-in-Chief' actually means at a publishing house, how The Bar Group was affected by the Covid-19 lockdown, why they decided to pivot on their original cover idea to the current cover's issue, and we discuss Onke's opinion on what Covid-19 has shown us as South Africans.

The Bar Group: https://thebargroup.co.za/

DESTINY Connect: https://www.destinyconnect.com/

thebar: https://www.thebar.co.za/

Onke's personal accounts -  

IG: https://www.instagram.com/foreveronke/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/onke-dumeko-375993150/

twitter: https://twitter.com/foreveronke

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Rachel Kolisi is a mother of 4, an entrepreneur and philanthropist. She co-founded RISE (https://risewomen.org.za/) with business partner and personal trainer, Tammy Raustron. RISE is a movement dedicated to helping women live more purposeful lives, through health and fitness.  Rachel believes that the Kolisi Foundation (https://kolisifoundation.org/) is a vehicle through which many lives can be impacted on a much greater scale with a deep desire to see all South Africans afforded an equal opportunity to live out their dreams and ambitions.

In this interview, we talk about Rachel's journey to becoming body confident after her second pregnancy and how this sewed the seed to creating RISE; how she deals with media hate and why she "clapsback"; and share some laughs at how poorly we did at 30 seconds.  

BLACK LIVES MATTER RESOURCES:

- https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#educate

- https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate

- https://www.timeout.com/things-to-do/how-to-support-black-lives-matter

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE RESOURCES:  

President Cyril Ramaphosa's address: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-06-18-gender-based-violence-is-south-africas-second-pandemic-says-ramaphosa/#gsc.tab=0

Helpful numbers & sites:

1) http://gbv.org.za/

2) https://www.gov.za/GBVFdeclaration?gclid=CjwKCAjw88v3BRBFEiwApwLevZ_xrCKfw-0KOsx79YMLsDgctlwBNhl5d2TLWbFMd99Q9c68cF8i-RoCtWUQAvD_BwE

3) https://www.saferspaces.org.za/understand/entry/gender-based-violence-in-south-africa

4) https://www.tears.co.za/gbv-domestic-abuse/?gclid=CjwKCAjw88v3BRBFEiwApwLevaMJ3cI96D4m_aiHyOo8ZlHJEpcU81xgKZCmXCh7dAoxV6FvT8SWhRoCfmMQAvD_BwE

AN ORGANISATION TO GET BEHIND:

THE SOCIAL MAKEOVER (https://www.facebook.com/thesocialmakeover/ or https://www.instagram.com/the_social_makeover/) is a bespoke women's rights, wellbeing and development social concept. Forging a more inclusive gender equal world and working towards - ending violence against women #SDG5

They are creating and distributing

DIGNITY PACKS as part of their #SupportHer campaign. They have committed to distributing 6000 feminine hygiene products, which include menstrual hygiene products to women’s organisations and shelters across the Western Cape in collaboration with @girlswithwiings  and @thecoraproject

Girls with Wiings:

(https://www.facebook.com/girlswithwiings/ or https://www.instagram.com/girlswithwiings/)

The CORA Project:

(https://www.facebook.com/thecoraproject.org/ or https://www.instagram.com/thecoraproject/)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Noluvuyo is a Tech Company Founder, a social entrepreneur, author and 2019 Inspiring50 Winner. She is a technology professional and leader with a career that spans 11 years across the Telecommunications, Financial Services, Higher Education and Natural Energy sectors. She an alumnus of the University of Cape Town, where I am also a current MCom Information Systems candidate.  

She has founded public benefit organisations that have made an impact in the lives of the communities and sectors which they serve. Also a founding member of Inside Out Mentors as well as a co-founder of ICT On Heels. Noluvuyo is heavily invested in offering support and mentoring to young women.  

We talk about how the current COVID-19 pandemic has impacted her business currently and Noluvuyo's views on a world post-COVID-19 lockdown, how women can take up more space in the ICT sector, and the current project which she is working on!  

Noluvuyo Mpekelana's details -

Website: http://www.nolu.co.za/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noluvuyo-...

IG: https://www.instagram.com/nolumpekelana/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/geeknolu

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com

Tayla Sutherland is a born and bred Cape Tonian who now resides in Sydney, Australia. Tayla completed her Bachelors and Honours at Vega in Art Direction and in Brand Communication and moved to Sydney to pursue a Masters in Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Marketing. While she was a student in Sydney, she realised that there was a gap in the South African market for “beautiful online boutiques”, which pushed Tayla to launch her eCommerce biz BLVD Boutique in 2017.  

BLVD Btq ships bespoke female clothing items from Australian boutiques at an affordable price to the South African market. Starting with a #styleinspo page on IG to launching an #instagramshop with over 27K followers, selling out on items and having to set up #preorderlists, it is safe to say that the South African market has taken to this bespoke online boutique!  

We speak about how Tayla launched her #onlinebusiness, her marketing strategy during COVID-19, taking a social stand as a business on social media, and some fun playing a round (or two) of 30 Seconds. Did I mention I managed to get an #EXCLUSIVE announcement from Tayla about what to look forward to this coming October/November 🤩

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blvdbtq/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blvdbtq

Website: https://blvdbtq.com/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theteawithnicky.substack.com